Polish voluntary associations

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Polish Volunteer Units are paramilitary infantry formations under the command of the Polish Ministry of Defense.

History and background

Under the impression of the NATO-Russia crisis , Poland has seen itself as a “front-line state” against Russia for historical reasons since joining NATO . Observers consider a direct Russian invasion of Poland to be very unlikely, but Poland feared a "hybrid war" by Russia, similar to the covert invasion of Crimea. As early as 2005, the Polish government began to integrate existing paramilitary groups more closely into the standing Polish armed forces.

In March 2015, volunteer militias, vigilante groups from all over Poland, paramilitary associations and schools with so-called military science classes met for a conference near Warsaw . On March 21st, the 800 participants formed an association. The Polish Ministry of Defense is interested in the close involvement of the militias and the involvement of “civil defense organizations” is an important step towards increasing the security of Poland. The association is led by General Boguslaw Pacek. Before that he was responsible for the improvement of military training in Ukraine within the framework of the NATO program DEEP .

The aim is joint exercises with reservists and the use of military training grounds by the volunteers. The Polish government also considered paying 2,500 volunteers a wage in order to be able to quickly mobilize them as the “backbone” of the voluntary associations at the local level in the event of war.

Volunteer associations

Members of the "Strzelec" shooting association

It is estimated that there are 70 paramilitary groups in Poland, others speak of 120 paramilitary groups with around 45,000 to 70,000 members. They conduct military exercises, shooting training and tactics lessons. The registered volunteers receive 120 euros per month from the Polish government.

Member associations

Larger and smaller groups belong to the association of volunteer associations. An old league is the shooting association "Strzelec" ("Schütze"). It is a paramilitary youth organization and was founded in 1910. Smaller groups are for example the “Pomeranian Territorial Defense” (POT).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eyeing Russia nervously, Poles enrol in volunteer militias . In: Reuters . March 20, 2015 ( reuters.com [accessed June 9, 2016]).
  2. ↑ a b Vigilante groups are supposed to defend Poland . In: Welt Online . March 21, 2015 ( welt.de [accessed June 9, 2016]).
  3. ^ A b SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg Germany: Paramilitaries against Russia: Poland's army of volunteers. In: SPIEGEL ONLINE. Retrieved June 9, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Jörg Winterbauer: This is how Poland's vigilante groups are preparing for war . In: Welt Online . March 13, 2015 ( welt.de [accessed June 9, 2016]).